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    WAFF Championship

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 7 min

    WAFF Championship
    Organising bodyWAFF
    Founded2000; 25 years ago (2000)
    RegionWest Asia
    Number of teams12 (2026)
    Current champions Bahrain (1st title)
    Most successful team(s) Iran (4 titles)
    Websitethe-waff.com
    2026 WAFF Championship
    Members of the WAFF

    The West Asian Football Federation Championship (Arabic: بطولة اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم), or simply WAFF Championship, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), the governing body of football in West Asia. The championship has been held nine times since the first edition in 2000.[1]

    The defending champions are Bahrain, having defeated hosts Iraq in the 2019 final. The most successful team is Iran, with four titles; however, they do not compete in the competition anymore as they are no longer members of the WAFF.

    History

    [edit]

    The inaugural WAFF Championship was held in 2000 in Jordan, with Iran winning the first edition.[2] It was hosted in memory of Hussein of Jordan, who had died a year prior.[3] The Al Hussein Cup, assigned to the winner of each tournament, was designed and manufactured in Italy in 2000, and is made of silver and copper.[2]

    Results

    [edit]
    Edition Year Hosts Champions Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place No. of Teams
    1 2000 Jordan
    Iran         		1–0
    Syria
    Iraq     		4–1
    Jordan     		8
    2 2002 Syria
    Iraq         		3–2 (a.e.t.)
    Jordan
    Iran     		2–2 (a.e.t.)
    (4–2 pen.)
    Syria     		6
    3 2004 Iran
    Iran         		4–1
    Syria
    Jordan     		3–1
    Iraq     		6
    4 2007 Jordan
    Iran         		2–1
    Iraq     		 Jordan and  Syria[note 1] 6
    5 2008 Iran
    Iran         		2–1
    Jordan     		 Qatar and  Syria[note 1] 6
    6 2010 Jordan
    Kuwait         		2–1
    Iran     		 Iraq and  Yemen[note 1] 9
    7 2012 Kuwait
    Syria         		1–0
    Iraq
    Oman     		1–0
    Bahrain     		11
    8 2013 Qatar
    Qatar         		2–0
    Jordan
    Bahrain     		0–0 (a.e.t.)
    (3–2 pen.)
    Kuwait     		9
    9 2019 Iraq
    Bahrain         		1–0
    Iraq     		[note 2] 9
    10 2026 Kuwait 12
    • a.e.t.: after extra time
    • pen.: after penalty shoot-out
    • TBD: to be determined
    Notes
    1. ^ a b c The two semi-finalists in 2007, 2008, and 2010 did not play a third-place match.
    2. ^ There were neither semi-finals nor a third-place match in 2019.

    Teams reaching the top four

    [edit]
    Teams reaching the top four
    Team Titles Runners-up Third place1 Fourth place Total
     Iran 4 (2000, 2004*, 2007, 2008*) 1 (2010) 1 (2002) 6
     Iraq 1 (2002) 3 (2007, 2012, 2019*) 2 (2000, 20102) 1 (2004) 7
     Syria 1 (2012) 2 (2000, 2004) 2 (20072, 20082) 1 (2002*) 6
     Bahrain 1 (2019) 1 (2013) 1 (2012) 3
     Qatar 1 (2013*) 1 (20082) 2
     Kuwait 1 (2010) 1 (2013) 2
     Jordan 3 (2002, 2008, 2013) 2 (2004, 20072*) 1 (2000*) 6
     Yemen 1 (20102) 1
     Oman 1 (2012) 1
    * = hosts
    1 = includes semi-finals in case there was no third-place match
    2 = semi-final

    Records and statistics

    [edit]

    Top goalscorers by tournament

    [edit]
    Year Player(s) Goals
    2000 Iraq Razzaq Farhan 4
    2002 Iran Alireza Nikbakht 2
    Iraq Razzaq Farhan
    Jordan Muayad Salim
    Syria Anas Sari
    2004 Iran Ali Daei 5
    2007 Iran Mehdi Rajabzadeh 2
    Iraq Salih Sadir
    2008 Iran Kianoush Rahmati 3
    2010 Yemen Ali Al-Nono 4
    2012 Oman Qasim Said 4
    Syria Ahmad Al Douni
    2013 Qatar Boualem Khoukhi 6
    2019 Iraq Hussein Ali 3

    See also

    [edit]
    • WAFF U-23 Championship
    • WAFF U-18 Championship
    • WAFF U-16 Championship
    • WAFF Women's Championship
    • Arabian Gulf Cup
    • FIFA Arab Cup
    • AFC Asian Cup
      • AFF Championship
      • CAFA Nations Cup
      • EAFF E-1 Football Championship
      • SAFF Championship

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ "West Asian Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
    2. ^ a b ""كأس الحسين".. رمزية تاريخية وعودة ميمونة". The WAFF. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
    3. ^ "اتحاد غرب آسيا يُحدد موعد بطولة الرجال العاشرة". جريدة الغد (in Arabic). 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
    [edit]
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    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WAFF Championship
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